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Complete U.S. Juniors coverage • Blog Jr.
By DAN MIROCHA
Assistant EditorSHOAL CREEK, Ala. – There will be a new U.S. Junior Amateur champ this weekend.
Defending champ Cory Whitsett was knocked off by Dominic Bozzelli, 4 and 3, Wednesday at Shoal Creek. The 17-year-old from Rochester, N.Y., birdied No. 4 to gain a 1-up lead and never trailed the rest of the way.
Whitsett was striving to become the only player other than Tiger Woods to win consecutive U.S. Junior titles. (Woods won three in a row.)
“I got the lead early and I just kept putting the pressure on him,” Bozzelli said.
Bozzelli was 2 up after 9 holes and looked to be in trouble at the 10th, but he rolled in a 40-foot par putt to halve the hole. He followed with a cut 4-iron from 210 yards on the par-5 11th that stopped 5 feet from hole. He converted the eagle putt to go 3 up.
He closed Whitsett out on No. 15 with a par.
“It was the worst round of golf I’ve played this summer,” said Whitsett, who hit just three greens on the front nine. “He played well, but I wasn’t putting any pressure on him.”
Whitsett was a heavy favorite entering this week. A winner of the AJGA’s Rolex Tournament of Champions and the Western Junior this summer, Whitsett looked to be in prime form for match play after tying for sixth at 1-under 143 in stroke-play qualifying.
“It’s disappointing,” Whitsett said. “It’s match play, tough. It’s different. I didn’t play well enough. He played fine. It was just not in the cards.”
Bozzelli won the New York State High School Championship last month in a playoff. He said this victory ranks just as high.
“I was pretty excited getting to play Cory today,” Bozzelli said. “If I won, it would put me on the map.”
Results from the first round of match play at the U.S.
Junior Amateur, played July 23 at the par-72, 7,271-yard Shoal Creek (Ala.) Club
(Note: play suspended due to darkness):
| FIRST ROUND |
|
| Jorge Fernandez Valdes def. Cory McElyea |
19 holes |
| Bobby Wyatt def. Drew Preston |
6 and 5 |
| Andrew Yun def. Cameron Wilson |
1 up |
| Jeffrey Kang def. Michael Sorenson |
3 and 1 |
| Richard Werenski def. Nicholas Losole III |
3 and 1 |
| David Persons def. Matthew Ceravolo |
2 up |
| Julian Suri def. Richard Lamb |
5 and 4 |
| Jordan Spieth def. Ryan Marks |
2 and 1 |
| Justin Shin def. Cody Martin |
1 up |
| Evan Beck def. Chris Worrell |
4 and 3 |
| Patrick Rodgers def. Parker Clowers |
6 and 5 |
| J.J. Spaun def. Landon Tujague |
3 and 2 |
| Jordan Gilmore def. Sam Smith |
1 up |
| T.J. Vogel def. Patrick Reed |
4 and 3 |
| Bhavik Patel all square Michael McGowan |
thru 21 holes |
| Ernesto Marin def. Ben Crancer |
3 and 2 |
| Andrew Steinhofer def. Cody Gribble |
5 and 4 |
| Adam Sumrall def. Curtis Donahue |
4 and 2 |
| Jordan Lee def. Wes Strang |
4 and 3 |
| Tom Lovelady def. Dashiell Lindsell |
6 and 5 |
| Dominic Bozzelli def. Cory Whitsett |
4 and 3 |
| Grant Weaver def. Jay Vandeventer |
3 and 2 |
| Martin Trainer all square Blaine Woodruff |
thru 13 |
| Gaston De La Toree 1 up Kevin Penner |
thru 14 |
| Cameron Peck 4 up Bobby Lange |
thru 14 |
| Boom Sritart 1 up Jack Perry |
thru 12 holes |
| Wilson Day 2 up Justin Keiley |
thru 11 holes |
| Rak Cho 2 up Simon St. Louis |
thru 10 holes |
| Phillip Choi 2 up Brett Komoto |
thru 10 |
| Robert Galbreath Jr. 3 up Seth Reeves |
thru 8 |
| Taylor Travis 1 up Bryden Macpherson |
thru 9 |
| Emiliano Grillo 4 up Tyler Klava |
thru 7 |
•
Click here for stroke-play qualifying scores
Posted: 7/23/2008
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